


(bath) bombs

by PetitSkittles



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Bottom Kim Mingyu, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Multi, Smut, Sugar Daddy Minghao, Top Xu Ming Hao | The8, blink and youll miss it, mafia boss minghao, some references to other svt fanfics but nothing big, sugar baby mingyu, university student mingyu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:23:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetitSkittles/pseuds/PetitSkittles
Summary: Mingyu is a broke university student who works at Lush.Minghao is used to a very different kind of bombs.





	1. ba be bi robot bulles

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys! here's the prologue, our castle under the sea is still my baby so i'll focus on it, but my friend wanted a gyuhao fanfic and who am i to tell her no (*ゝω・)ﾉ
> 
> (everything is already planned so when i'll start working on it like i'm working on ocuts, updates will probably be fast and no less than 5k words)
> 
> i can't write smut, so i'll either learn how to or let a friend write it for me (・∀・｀；)

To Mingyu, every Lush customer looks the same. The man in the leather jacket is an exception.

         Mingyu doesn’t judge easily, so the looks he gives the customer are more admirative than disapproving. His tattoos are beautiful and he wonders if it hurt a lot. Mingyu always wanted tattoos, he’s just scared of the pain that comes with it.

         The man walks around the shop, looking at everything with a disinterested face. A disinterested, but beautiful face. His black hair makes him look even more intimidating (but Mingyu finds his nose absolutely adorable).

         When the man suddenly turns back and opens his mouth, Mingyu expects him to be mad for being stared at. Instead, he gets asked for a bath bomb.

         “Sorry?”

         “Which one would suit me? You work here, don’t you?”

         There isn’t anything in his tone, he sounds beyond bored. Mingyu’s an idiot, so he still blushes.

         “Which what? You want a bath bomb?”

         The customer isn’t the average one, but who’s Mingyu to judge? Leather and piercings or not, he’s getting paid and at the moment, that’s all that matters. He can’t let Seokmin pay for everything, he knows it doesn’t bother his roommate – Seokmin is understanding, he told him more than once he didn’t mind paying as long as Mingyu paid him back by helping him with his maths – but he really hates how he’s living in the apartment without doing anything. Maths aren’t worth what Seokmin is doing for him, he still feels like he owes his friend and that’s a big no. He does his best to cook meals – with food bought with his money, that’s the least he can do – and clean every room when it gets even a bit messier than it should be. It’s not enough.

         The guy is intimidating and looks like he’d kill someone for looking at him the wrong way. He lacks the “I would kick a puppy” vibe though, so Mingyu guesses he can’t be that bad. The future architect – if he finds a way to pay for another year at his university – got pretty good at judging people and the man in leather doesn’t trigger his fight or fly instincts.

         Still, he doesn’t look like someone who would buy a bath bomb or even walk in a Lush… but it’s not like Mingyu cares. That would be hypocrite, coming from him. If he had a dollar for every time someone asked him if he was working in a gym, he wouldn’t have to work his ass off to pay the rent.

         “Look, kid, I don’t have all day.”

         “Okay, I think I have something for you.”

         It’s been a while since someone bought one of their cute bath bombs and, now that Mingyu has the opportunity to sell one, he’s gonna take it, piercings and black leather or not.

         The “ickle baby bot” bath bomb is one of his favourites. It’s a baby blue robot and, while Mingyu may prefer red, he still finds it absolutely adorable.

         The man stares at the bath bomb, obviously surprised. It’s a surprised look, not an offended one, so Mingyu guess he’s fine and won’t get fired after being yelled at by a customer. That’s how he lost his job at the Starbucks in front of his university.

         “Is that okay?” he still asks, hating how soft and hesitant his voice suddenly sounds.

         “Yeah. It’s just a bath bomb anyway, it’s not a big deal. Thank you… Kim Mingyu, is that right?” his customer asks as they walk to the counter so he can pay for the cute robot.

         His voice got softer too and Mingyu can see the beginning of a smile. It almost makes him forget about the fact a pure stranger knows his full name.

         “Wait, how, how do you know my name?” he stutters, flustered and blushing.

         The smile gets bigger and though it’s now more of a mocking smirk, Mingyu realizes he doesn’t mind at all. That arrogant look, the dark hair, the black clothes, the tattoos, the piercings… that’s hot. He likes the way he says his name.

         “You left your textbook on the counter. Your name is written on it.”

         Right. He should have thought about it.

         “That makes, that makes sense,” and _god_ does he wish he could stop blushing like an idiot.

         He sees Wonwoo every fucking day, he should be used to hot dudes. Of course, Joshua is too busy staring at the wall he’s been looking at since hot goth guy walked in. With the grin on his coworker’s face, it’s pretty sure he’s doing it on purpose so Mingyu has the customer for himself.

         “I’m Myungho, by the way.”

         Hot goth guy leaves and Mingyu is a big blushing mess. He decides Joshua will have to use his own money if he wants another chocolate box from Laura Secord because Mingyu’s never buying him one again.

 

Minghao doesn’t even need to look at Junhui, he swears he can _hear_ his grin.

         “So… a pink bag.”

         “Shut the fuck up.”

         “Ah, always so polite, HaoHao!” Junhui giggles and snatches said pink bag. “Aw, that’s so cute!”

         Minghao knows what’s coming and groans. He may not show it often, but he really likes Junhui. They started dating a few days after they met and decided they weren’t made for each other, not in a romantic way. Now, Jun is like a brother and he’s the only one – with Jieqiong – who can talk to him in such a casual way.

         Junhui is well aware of it, which explains all the teasing. Minghao still can’t decide if he wants it to stop or if he welcomes one of the few things that can make him feel like he’s a normal person and not part of the mafia.

         “With what Jeonghan told me, I guess it’s not wrong to assume the boy who gave it to you was cuter, was he?”

         “Jeonghan should shut up and do something about his crush,” Minghao mumbles, but he can’t deny that Jeonghan is right, that Mingyu kid is cute.

         “And how do you feel about it?”

         Minghao raises an eyebrow. Junhui doesn’t need to ask, he already knows.

         “I want him. Call Qin Yu, I need her girls to find everything they can about a boy named Kim Mingyu.”


	2. merveille dorée

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wonwoo, when you want to get into someone’s pants, you don’t tell them to leave.”

If Mingyu had to describe his life with a word, it would probably be boring. Oh, he’s not complaining, far from it. In fact, he’s lucky. In the movies, the main character can’t be gay (or part of the LGBTQ+ community) without getting involved in drama the second he comes out. When Mingyu got a boyfriend, his family and his friends were okay with it and he cried because of how thankful he felt. It’s just… he’d like a life with a bit more excitement. Nothing happens, he’s too busy working to studying and working to go to parties and have fun. He only sees his room, the library, classrooms and the small Lush he works at.

         In short, his life is boring, period. Mingyu is used to a busy life, but he never thought he’d go from partying all night to go to work and study. Trading drinks for books wasn’t something he planned.

         “Jaehyun asked me to tell you about the party at Taeyong’s house, but I guess you won’t go.”

         Wonwoo is Mingyu’s best friend, but also his ex. Luckily, they decided to stay friends even after breaking up. Mingyu doesn’t know what he would be without his best friend. A few years ago, Mingyu was the one reminding the other to eat and making sure he wouldn’t spend the whole night studying. Now, it’s the other way around. Even if Mingyu is still the one cooking their meals, Wonwoo has to get him at the library or at the Lush so he doesn’t miss a meal.

         Mingyu sighs. He really misses being able to go out and have fun with his friends. Taeyong’s house is awesome, the perfect place for a party, and his friend Johnny is an amazing DJ, but… “No, I have homework.”

         Wonwoo shrugs. “It’s okay, I’ll stay here. I’ll be in my room, just call me if you need help.”

         Everyone assumes that Mingyu misses every party because of Wonwoo. Surprisingly, the latter isn’t the awkward introvert people think he is – well, he is an introvert, but he’ll gladly spend some time with his friends at a party if they don’t invite him more than twice a day – and Mingyu doesn’t stay home just so his best friend isn’t alone.

         In fact, it’s the other way around, Wonwoo stays because of Mingyu. Someone has to make sure he gets some sleep and he wants to make sure Mingyu has someone to help him if he struggles with his homework. It’s kind of funny how Mingyu went from the one who made sure Wonwoo took care of his social life to the one who stops him from doing so. At least, Soonyoung – bless him – doesn’t mind when Wonwoo arrives late or cancels their plans, so it’s not like he lost every tiny bit of social life he had. Mingyu would hate being the reason why his best friend doesn’t go out anymore.

         “Thanks, hyung.”

         “No problem, you used to do the same for me. Don’t forget to get some sleep.”

         They both know the oldest of the two will have to force him to close his books and go to bed, but Wonwoo still says the same thing before leaving Mingyu study alone. One day, he’ll probably listen to him. For now, he’s way too stressed by his grades to think about going to bed early.

         Mingyu groans. His life became way too complicated and he hates it.

 

Wonwoo wakes him up by pushing him out of bed. He quickly learned how to wake him up and the fall seems to be the only option. Even throwing ice cold water at him didn’t work (he only got a cold and had to miss classes, which made him even more stressed, and Wonwoo still apologizes for this even if it happened weeks ago).

         “Rise and shine, Mingyu.”

         Mingyu would like to stay on the floor and cry. Maybe even get swallowed by the floor, but it would leave Wonwoo on his own and he definitely doesn’t want to let his friend pay the bills alone.

         So he gets up even if it’s the last thing he wants to do and goes to the kitchen. It’s his kingdom, the place Wonwoo isn’t allowed to – well, he is, but not to cook, he could find a way to burn water. After cooking breakfast, he takes a few bites and leaves the rest on the table for Wonwoo to finish, knowing the other will put it in the fridge so he can eat it when he’ll be back from work and too tired to cook. God, he can understand why he used to date such a wonderful person.

         “You didn’t finish,” Wonwoo comments.

         He never finishes. “Yeah, Seokmin is waiting for me.”

         Wonwoo throws something at him. His wallet. “Take a few bills and buy yourself something, you can’t go to class with an empty stomach.”

         Mingyu puts it on the counter without taking anything and smiles. “Thank you, hyung, but I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll buy something,” he adds as soon as the other opens his mouth to argue. “I just want to use my own money.”

         Wonwoo gives up and lets him go. Mingyu grabs his keys and starts his sad excuse of a car, hoping it won’t let him down on his way to Seokmin’s apartment – it happened once… okay, four times. Luckily, it doesn’t and he thanks everything he knows, from karma to the dog he left with his mother.

         As always (like he said, his life is boring, an endless cycle of the same things repeating themselves again and again), Seokmin is waiting for him and gets in the car with a smile. “So? Are you going to buy something to eat this morning?”

         Mingyu has to admit he doesn’t do much to break the cycle. “No, I only need some coffee. I think they have a special french vanilla, I’d like to taste it.”

         Seokmin, being the perfect human being he is, offers him money to buy something to eat, but he gets rejected too. Mingyu knows a few dollars won’t ruin him, but he’s just too tired to eat. With how stressed and drained out he is, even the thought of eating a real meal is enough to make him feel sick.

         Once they’re sitting, Mingyu’s coffee dangerously close to his books, he suddenly remembers about the man at Lush. “Hey, something happened yesterday.”

         Seokmin stops drawing random squares on a sheet to look at him. “Really? Your life is finally getting interesting?”

         Mingyu hates how he can’t even deny it. “Yeah, we got a weird client. Well, he wasn’t really weird, just not the usual Lush customer, you know. Leather jacket, piercings, tattoos, he probably has a bike…”

         Seokmin looks amused. “In short, he was hot as hell, exactly your type.”

         “Urgh, exactly. He also had fingerless gloves, like… please choke me with those fingers, daddy.”

         Someone behind them coughs and Mingyu tries to hide his blush, but his ears refuse to let it die. Seokmin can’t help, too busy laughing so hard he almost falls.

         “Sorry for interrupting this very interesting conversation, but can I sit there?”

         “Yeah, sure.” Mingyu’s voice fails to hide how confused he is. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting someone to want to sit next to him after hearing such a thing.

         It’s obviously fresh blood. Mingyu may not be the social butterfly he used to be, but he’s sure he never saw the boy in front of him before. With cute round cheeks and eyes sparkling like he’s about to tell them the funniest joke ever, he’s not someone you’d easily forget.

         “I’m Mingyu,” he presents himself, offering his hand. “And this dumbass is Seokmin.”

         Of course, the other’s eyes get to Seokmin’s thighs and stay there. Everyone, girls and boys, seems to have something for his friend’s thighs. The worst thing is that Mingyu can’t judge them, they’re hot. He’s a kinky little shit though, his opinion doesn’t matter.

         “I’m Soonyoung, I’m new here. Could you give me a tour when we’ll be free?”

         They shake hands before comparing their schedules. Mingyu and Soonyoung share every class, which is an amazing coincidence.

         “You can eat with us,” he offers once they’re done with their morning classes. “I always make too much, I’d be more than happy to share.”

         Maybe Wonwoo will stop being so worried for him if he doesn’t bring any food back. His stomach couldn’t handle a full portion anyway, might as well share with the new guy.

         Soonyoung smiles, which is adorable. “Thanks, Gyu. Can I call you Gyu?”

         “Of course, Soonyoung…”

         He’s not sure if he has to add a _hyung_. Almost everyone in his classes is older than him, it wouldn’t surprise him that Soonyoung is one of them.

         “I was born in 1996.”

         “Ah, 1997 for us, so you’re our hyung.”

         Soonyoung grimaces and rubs his neck. “I’m sorry, as a hyung, I should be the one to buy you lunch, especially as a thank you for being so nice to me. Don’t bring anything tomorrow, I’ll take care of that!”

         “You’re a new student, we can’t make you pay for us,” Mingyu complains. “I like to cook anyway, it’s okay.”

         “Maybe we could go to your apartment to help you,” Seokmin suggests.

         Mingyu knows he wants to help, but the thought of Seokmin in their kitchen is terrifying. Soonyoung shakes his head.

         “No, I’m a terrible cook. I’ll bring money, where do you guys usually eat?”

         “Uh, we usually eat Mingyu’s food… but sometimes, we get ramen.”

         Soonyoung takes a bite and the moan he lets out makes Mingyu smile. He knows he’s an amazing cook – he’s not bragging, he’s being realist – but it’s always nice to be reminded of it.

         “So, you guys have money problems?” the new boy asks before almost choking on his food. “Fuck, sorry! That was rude and it’s none of my business, I’m so sorry!”

         Seokmin shrugs. “Well, not really, but let’s just say we can’t buy everything we’d like to have.”

         Mingyu doesn’t miss the way Soonyoung’s eyes seem to sparkle even more. “If you could buy something, what would it be? Like, anything.”

         Mingyu is the first one to answer. “Food. Like Seokmin said, our problems aren’t as bad as it sounds, but let’s just say I can’t buy anything. I have to calculate the quantities and how much it’ll cost… then, I have to plan our meals for the week. I miss being able to buy food based on its taste and quality and just cook whatever I wanted to cook.”

         “You used to have more money, right? What changed?” Soonyoung grimaces. “I’m sorry for asking all those questions, you really don’t have to answer. I need to stop being so curious.”

         “It’s fine. Something happened to my parents and now I have to pay for my classes, the apartment and my family’s… problem. They get half of my money, it’s only fair after how much they helped me before they got unlucky.”

         Soonyoung opens his mouth, probably to say something, before changing his mind and taking another bite instead. Seokmin starts talking about the new video game he wants to try, but can’t because of how expensive it is. As weird as it sounds, Mingyu feels a bit dumb for taking the question so seriously. It’s not like he’ll suddenly get free food.

 

A few hours later, they’re finally free. Mingyu and Soonyoung sat next to each other in every class, getting jokes from Seokmin about how jealous he’s feeling. Mingyu likes the new guy, he’s as funny as Seokmin and it’s easy to talk to him. Soonyoung even helped him when he tripped on his foot and dropped his things, laughing with him and not at him.

         “You’re new in town, right? I could give you a tour, be your guide.”

         Seokmin shakes his head, frowning. “Mingyu, you have work and we both know you won’t go to bed before finishing your notes, which is gonna take you a whole hour… at least. It’s kind of you to offer that, but you won’t go to bed before midnight.”

         He sighs. Seokmin is right, but he wanted to spend more time with Soonyoung. He’s interesting and promised to show him a few moves. He didn’t have time to prove it, but he told Mingyu he was a pretty good dancer and Mingyu can’t wait to see it.

         “Sorry, Soonyoung… need a ride?”

         “Don’t be sorry.” Soonyoung smiles and takes his hands, having noticed how Mingyu likes skinship. “Don’t bother, I’ll take the bus.”

         “But it’s uncomfortable… please.”

         It takes Mingyu’s pout to make him accept. They drop him in front of a small street leading to what seems to be apartments worth more than everything that Mingyu owns. It surprises him. He knew Soonyoung had more money than them, but at this point?

         In the mirror, Mingyu sees him waving at them until they turn the corner. He’s nice, Mingyu is glad to have him as a friend. With someone like Soonyoung, there’s no unnecessary drama or awkward fights that last for weeks. He’s finally getting something to make his life less boring without making it twice as complicated!

 

Soonyoung watches them leave before taking his bike. The kids are nice, but he has other things to do than visiting a town he already knows, he’s glad Mingyu already had something to do. Minghao probably won’t like to know that his pretty boy is so bad at taking good of himself, he thinks with a smirk as he puts his helmet on.

         Soonyoung may be part of the mafia, but safety always comes first, kids.

         The ride to Minghao’s house – it’s more like a building if you ask Soonyoung, but his boss doesn’t officially use it for work so it counts as his house, even if it lacks the feeling of coming home – doesn’t take him more than a few minutes. He knows the streets better than anyone else, except maybe for Junhui and Chan, but that’s because he taught them.

         “It doesn’t count,” he mumbles under his breath as he takes his helmet off.

         “Talking to yourself again, Soonyoung?”

         He laughs. “Shut up, Jeonghan.”

         They’re both grinning, Jeonghan’s grin being more excited than his. “So? How did it go? Is he interesting?”

         “Interesting with a heart of gold,” Soonyoung confirms. “And pretty as hell. Minghao’s going to eat him alive, he’s exactly how he likes them.”

         “Well, considering how good our Hao is in bed, I don’t think the kid will mind…”

         Soonyoung throws his helmet at his friend, ordering him to stop talking like they used to be fuck friends or something. Jeonghan doesn’t even look a bit ashamed of himself, probably too happy he made Soonyoung blush to care about the helmet hitting his arm.

         Really, Soonyoung got over his crush for Minghao years ago, Jeonghan should stop teasing him like that.

         (Seokmin’s thighs, though… he hopes Minghao will give him some freedom, he’d love to see them with less clothes.)

         “His friend is also hot, it’s unfair.”

         “Yeah, he has nice thighs, doesn’t he?”

         Soonyoung nods before realizing what the other just said. “Wait, how do you know?”

         Jeonghan shows him his phone. Of course, Mingyu is on Twitter. He’s not really active, having only a few tweets about some idols, a friend named Wonwoo and, Soonyoung was waiting for it, Seokmin. His last retweet is one of those tweets from a @sugardaddy65 offering money to ten people out of all the retweets.

         “Wow, he’s really getting desperate,” Soonyoung comments. “At least, we know how to get him in Minghao’s… well, we know how Minghao can get him.”

         Even after years in the mafia, years of blood and murders, Soonyoung blushes easily. He can kill someone with a smile, then get as red as a tomato the second someone mentions one of his friends having sex. Jeonghan seems to love it as much as he loved it when they first met, but Soonyoung wishes he’d drop it. How can people be scared of him when the older is always telling the whole world about what a softie he is?

         “I can’t believe an adult refuses to talk about sex,” Jeonghan sighs. “Soonyoung, my dear, you shouldn’t worry about this. We’ve read Mingyu’s tweets, the horny ones too. This boy has no filter.”

         “That’s Twitter for you. He seems really nice though, he gave me lunch even if he’s struggling with money problems.”

         “You already talked about his heart of gold,” Jeonghan laughs. “Are you sure you don’t have a new crush?”

         “No!” But Soonyoung’s red cheeks say something else.

         Jeonghan gasps. “Don’t tell me you have a crush on Minghao’s new thing?”

         “It’s not really a crush, I don’t know him well… and it’s not on Mingyu, his friend is just really good looking. Also, it would be nice if you could stop talking about him like he’s a thing.”

         “Well, isn’t he? Minghao gets obsessed over someone new every two months and dumps them three weeks later, he just wants to play. Your soft heart probably can’t understand it, but for him, they’re nothing but toys.”

         Soonyoung frowns. He doesn’t like what Jeonghan’s saying, but he can’t really deny it’s true. Jeonghan’s tone may be light, but his eyes show how much he hates it. Soonyoung is glad they can agree on something: letting Minghao get the boy feels like throwing a lamb to a wolf, but it’s not like they have a choice.

         Jeonghan must have read his disgust on his face. “You know, we could do a bit of sabotage and make sure the kid runs away before Minghao can get him.”

         He knows Jeonghan isn’t being serious. “No, Minghao is my friend, my brother, my boss. He has my loyalty, Mingyu doesn’t.” They both agree on this too.

 

“So, what are you gonna do about this?”

         Minghao licks his lips. Mingyu’s selfies are either adorable or hot. The first one he saw was him smiling at the camera, showing his cute canines. The second one? It would be hypocrite of Minghao to say that something should be illegal, but there’s nothing else he can use to describe that shirt. Mingyu never shows his face when he posts photos in crop tops though, Minghao assumes it’s because he doesn’t want someone to find it and recognize him.

         It’s a pity. Mingyu’s body – especially his bronze skin – looks amazing in a crop top. With a face like his, Minghao knows he’d be stunning. Add some fishnets and maybe even a skirt or some booty shorts and the boy would be absolutely gorgeous.

         He looks at Mingyu’s last tweet, which is, in fact, a retweet. It seems like the boy is getting desperate enough to retweet things from a so called sugar daddy, probably a jobless teenager with a daddy kink and too much free time. However, it makes Minghao smile.

         “What do you think about offering him to be my sugar baby?”

         Junhui cackles and says he expected him to answer with something like that, but doesn’t say anything negative. Well, he didn’t call him crazy, so Minghao’s gonna assume he isn’t against it. Soonyoung is supposed to be back, he probably knows how to woo the kid. Minghao is charming enough to do it on his own, but he’s known for being impatient and he’d like to get Kim Mingyu as soon as possible.

 

Mingyu throws his bag somewhere, not really caring about where it’ll land, and thinks about sitting on the floor and waiting for it to swallow him. When he looks at the fridge, he remembers that they don’t have anything to eat. Fuck his life. Still, he closes his eyes and opens the door. He’s just being delusional, but maybe that Wonwoo already bought food or that, for some reason, they still have eggs left even if he ate the last one a few days ago.

         When he opens his eyes, he closes the door. Then, he opens it again.

         “What the fuck.”

         There’s food, lots of food, and not the cheapest option possible. It’s… surprising. When he checks the pantry, he finds two boxes of his favourite cookies, among other things.

         Wonwoo comes back and finds his friend on the floor, crying.

         “School?”

         Mingyu shakes his head. “Food.”

         They call Seokmin, but it doesn’t come from him. There’s a note signed “8”, but Mingyu doesn’t really question it. Honestly, he doesn’t care about who did it, he’s too grateful to be bothered by the possibility that a stranger broke into their apartment.

         “Maybe Soonyoung? No, forget it,” he says as soon as his new friend’s name leaves his mouth. “I met him today, it can’t be him. He doesn’t even know where I live.”

         “Then, who? I don’t like this.”

         Mingyu shrugs. Whoever did it helped them, it can’t be bad, can it?

         However, the next day, Soonyoung and Seokmin seem to share Wonwoo’s opinion. Seokmin offers to let them stay with him until they change their door’s lock and Soonyoung keeps jumping away from everyone who gets close to them, like they could be whoever bought Mingyu food.

         “But aren’t you scared?” Soonyoung asks him when he refuses Seokmin’s offer.

         “No, it sounds stupid, but I feel kind of flattered?”

         “Your love for attention is showing, Gyu,” Seokmin laughs at him.

         Soonyoung doesn’t judge easily, not even when Seokmin explains how Mingyu loves getting gifts, but absolutely hates it when it comes from his friends and he can’t pay them back. There’s close to no logic in it, yet he just accepts that his new friend is weird and gives up.

         “If you die, it won’t be our fault,” Soonyoung warns him.

         Mingyu laughs and promises there’ll be chocolate cake at his funerals if he gets murdered in his sleep.

 

Once a month, Wonwoo visits Mingyu at his Lush and buys him lunch at the mall. Mingyu pays him with a bath bomb, even if he knows he’ll take at least half of it. It’s not that Wonwoo doesn’t like it, he just forgets to use it.

         “Are you hungry?”

         “Not really, Joshua gave me cupcakes. I don’t know how he finds time to do all his things,” Mingyu chuckles. “Cooking, working, studying… it’s already too much for me, yet he still has time to spend with his boyfriend, to play guitar and to relax.”

         “Yeah, that sounds cool.”

         Mingyu glares at Wonwoo, who doesn’t try to hide his smile. Unlike the younger boy, he doesn’t study for most of his day, he actually spends more time in front of his screen – and it’s not to study – than with a notebook in his hands. He reads a lot, but most books are totally unrelated to school.

         “Shut up, hyung.”

         “You know you could just, I don’t know, try to stop for a moment and relax?”

         Mingyu rolls his eyes, knowing how it’ll go. It’s not the first time they talk about it. No, Mingyu doesn’t _have_ to help his family and refuse his friends’ help, but that’s still what he does and will keep doing.

         “If you say it, hyung,” he mumbles.

         Wonwoo’s shoulder hits someone, who drops bags full of books and clothes. The boy’s eyes widen when he sees what he did and, always as polite as possible, he immediately kneels to help his victim. Mingyu feels embarrassed for him. With his height (and clumsiness), he often bumps into doorways, desks or even people, he knows how it feels.

         “I’m so sorry,” Wonwoo keeps saying, waving his hands around like he’s trying to kill flies once there’s nothing left on the floor. “I should have looked where I was going.”

         “No, it’s my fault, I was in a hurry. I mean, I still am,” Wonwoo’s victim laughs, his happiness obviously unaffected by the small incident.

         He’s another young man, probably about their age, with reddish brown hair and cute cheeks that Mingyu wants to pinch when he smiles as he apologizes. Apparently, he’s not the only one who finds him adorable. Wonwoo’s blushing and it’s amazing to see him as flustered as when they went on their first date.

         The third boy notices the way Mingyu looks at him and coos. “Aw, I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but you kind of look like my dog. He’s a baby, a little Shiba Inu by the way. That’s, that’s a compliment,” he adds when he realizes what he just said.

         “Oh, that’s nice of you!”

         “Only you can get flattered when someone compares you to a dog,” Wonwoo jokes before turning to the stranger, showing his best – yet a bit awkward – smile. “You mentioned being in a hurry, you, you should probably go.”

         Wonwoo is the worst flirter ever. As his ex, Mingyu should already know that, but it keeps surprising him.

         He watches the stranger go, without Wonwoo’s number.

         “Wonwoo, when you want to get into someone’s pants, you don’t tell them to leave,” he groans.

         Wonwoo blushes and looks away. “Mingyu, I was being polite… you can’t be rude to someone if you want their number, they won’t let you have it.”

         “Well, if they’re gone, you can’t have their number, dumbass.”

         Of course, they start arguing about Wonwoo’s talent as a flirt. Yes, it was enough to date him. No, it doesn’t mean he’s good, Mingyu would probably date anyone who compliments his art.

         “I mean, I went as far as dating _you_.”

         Wonwoo snorts – an ugly sound for a face as handsome as his – and teases him back. Mingyu is glad they’re still comfortable even after breaking up. In fact, he thinks it made them closer. Before dating, there was a time they were wondering what it would be like to date each other and it was more than awkward. Now, they know they’re soulmates, but not in that way. They don’t try to hide or forget the fact that they used to date, they prefer to joke about it and see it as something to learn from. It also gave them amazing blackmail material.

         (The only reason why Mingyu loves the last reason is that he’s the kind of boyfriend who likes to take photos while Wonwoo would rather save his time and storage for cats, which means that Mingyu has more embarrassing photos of Wonwoo than the other has of him.)

         “About the food…” Wonwoo doesn’t finish his sentence, like he’s searching for his words.

         “You can drop it, hyung, we’re fine. We got free food and no one got kill–”

         “I found something,” the older boy interrupts him, taking a sticky note from his pocket. There’s nothing on it except for the number 8. “I don’t know what it means. I tried to use it to find where our… generous benefactor is from, but it’s the kind you can find anywhere.”

         “Wow, you’re taking this seriously, aren’t you,” Mingyu teases him.

         “It’s serious, Gyu! Someone broke into our apartment–”

         “And gave us food, what’s the problem with that?”

         Wonwoo groans. “I always forget you’re the kind of person who would let a perfect stranger into their house and see nothing wrong about it.”

         Mingyu frowns. “Because there wasn’t anything wrong with it, Won. She was drunk, I couldn’t leave her alone in the street! If I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t have met Jinsoul, it’s a good thing I took her home.”

         Wonwoo rolls his eyes and tells him he’s hopeless.

 

“He loved it.”

         Soonyoung’s grin is somehow victorious, like he’s the one wanting Mingyu. Minghao raises an eyebrow.

         “Why does it make you so happy, I thought you would be against it.”

         Soonyoung shrugs. “Y’know, if it makes you happy… I’ll still try to make you leave him alone later, but for now, you’re helping him.”

         The other boy rolls his eyes. For someone in the mafia, Soonyoung is a big softie.

         (A big softie who doesn’t mind making a mess when Minghao asks him to get rid of someone, but make him talk to someone for three minutes and he gets attached.)

         “This will have to wait,” he sighs. “I’d love to buy him lunch, but EXO are planning something and I hate not knowing what it is. Rumors say it’s a drug called Kokobop, but I want to heard it from them.”

         “Aren’t you scared… sorry. Don’t you think they could get mad at you for wanting to know everything? They don’t need us, boss. If they find you annoying, they’d kill you and it won’t affect them.”

         Minghao smirks and takes his favourite jacket. “Nah, Yixing-ge likes me too much to let his boys hurt me.”

         Soonyoung can’t really deny it. He doesn’t really know why, but EXO’s Lay has a soft spot for Minghao. Maybe it’s because they’re both Chinese, but he feels like there’s something else. Before meeting the guy, he thought he was Minghao’s father. He quickly realized he’s way too young for that.

         “Alright. Weapons?”

         “Bring a knife, nothing else.” They can’t bring all their usual weapons to a meeting with EXO, it would make them seem like a menace, but they’re not foolish enough to go completely defenseless. A knife against guns may seem like they’re already dead, but Minghao knows Soonyoung. The boy doesn’t need something fancy to spill blood.

         (When he found him, the kid he was back then was in an alley, fighting two men with three bodies already on the ground. Even as a child, Soonyoung knew how to fight. Minghao brought him home with him when he saw he killed five men with nothing more than his fists and a backpack. His father accepted to “keep” him and raised him to be a fighter.

         Even if he’ll never admit it, Minghao wishes he had left Soonyoung in the alley. The boy deserves more than a life full of violence.)

         “Tell me more about Mingyu,” Minghao asks, so he can think about something else than his guilt.

         “He’s nice, really. He struggles with money, but he still gave me lunch, so I guess he’s the kind of guy who’s always ready to help others even if he doesn’t know them well.”

         “I don’t care about his personality, Soonyoung. I want his body under mine, that’s all.”

         He leaves his office, leaving the door open for Soonyoung, who rolls his eyes and follows him. That’s what he’s saying now, but it’s almost impossible to spend time with Mingyu without feeling at least the tiniest bit of affection for the tall boy.

         “We’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: @PetitSkittles
> 
> curiouscat: @PetitMuffin


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